Ed Deren Jr. and his Gov. Mifflin girls soccer team made history Nov. 3 when the Mustangs won their first District 3-AAA championship.

More than two months later, the accolades haven't stopped.

Deren has been named the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Class AAA Coach of the Year and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's East Region Coach of the Year. He'll receive both awards this month.

"I have no idea how this all happened," Deren said. "I got a phone call saying I've been picked as Pennsylvania Coach of the Year. I was dumbfounded.

"Then I found out I was one of the final eight (regional winners) in the country. My wife (Kathleen) and I looked at each other and thought, 'What's going on?' "

The short answer: quite a bit the last few years at Gov. Mifflin.

The Mustangs won three Berks League titles from spring 2010-12 before girls soccer moved to the fall this school year.

Conrad Weiser topped Gov. Mifflin in overtime this season in the Berks quarterfinals. The Mustangs responded with four straight district victories, including a 1-0 win against Lower Dauphin in the final.

Even now, Deren said, he's astounded at the thought of coaching a district champion.

"That puts my name with Rick Bausher and Jack Heim," Deren said, referring to Mifflin's former girls basketball coach and current girls cross country coach. "They're guys I've always looked up to. Like I said, just wow."

A 1986 Gov. Mifflin graduate, Deren wrapped up his 20th season as coach with a 227-129-22 career record. The Mustangs went 18-5 this fall and reached the PIAA quarterfinals for the second straight season.

"When I first started coaching in the league, Wilson was just an incredible power," Deren said. "Wyomissing was so good with Rachel Hoffman. There was Fleetwood and Weiser.

"I just wanted to teach the game. That was my first goal, to teach the kids about hard work and how hard work will take you far in life. The last eight, nine years, the talent that's been coming through my program is just incredible. I've been so blessed."

The list includes Boston University forward Madison Clemens, Suffolk forward Gabrielle Balestrier, Mount St. Mary's midfielder Emma Blair and Robert Morris forward Lauren Pietrowski, to name a few.

Senior midfielder Emily Gingrich, named an NSCAA All-American after scoring 100 career goals, is headed to Saint Joseph's on a scholarship.

"They've really put Mifflin soccer on the map," Deren said.

Deren and the other regional winners will be honored during a breakfast Jan. 18, part of the annual NSCAA convention in Indianapolis. The organization will announce its national coaches of the year at a dinner that night.

Deren called it a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity and said his father, Ed, will join him in Indianapolis.

Pennsylvania will hand out its awards at a Jan. 26 banquet in Mechanicsburg.

"I'm just humbled by this," Deren said. "I still feel so young. I feel like I have more to give to Mifflin, to my team. I love working with the girls. It's quite an honor."